THE VASELINES - Enter The Vaselines

Just as Nirvana rose above the grunge pack with their love of melody, Scotland's Vaselines distinctly strayed from the path of their peers when they emerged in the year of the legendary C86 comp that firmly established bookish, asexual and twee as key features of indie-pop to this day. What set The Vaselines apart from the crowd was a scrappiness that put them in league with the American indie scene, especially the burgeoning home-recording/lo-fi aesthetic led by Calvin Johnson. Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee were defiantly sloppy, carefully balancing his vocal laziness (and wild fuzz-guitar solos) with her sunny exuberance. Buried under the amateur playing and production, though, were classic tunes that would endure far beyond their initial run (in fact, they are actively touring once again, playing Lee's Palace on Fri. May 15). By 1989 they were history, and in 1992 Sub Pop reissued the two EPs and album (Dum-Dum) that comprised the entirety of their released output as The Way Of The Vaselines: A Complete History. Here, you get that collection, along with a bonus disc of live performances and demos that make clear why Kurt Cobain loved The Vaselines enough to cover three of their songs throughout Nirvana's career (and name his daughter Frances).